Refrigerator door lock



Feb. 28, 1956 2,736,594

E. D. DALL REFRIGERATOR DOOR LOCK Filed Jan. 13, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 .ITIE'EIZZET Edward D. 1361/! Feb. 28, 1956 E. D. DALL REFRIGERATOR DOOR LOCK 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 13, 1953 1172's TITS? Edward Dal! Vb a, rm, Q W :1:1 75

United States Patent REFRIGERATOR DOOR LOCK Edward D. Dal], Detroit, Mich., assignor to Houdaille- Hershey Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Application January 13, 1953, Serial No. 331,087

6 Claims. (Cl. 292216) This invention relates to improvements in door locks and more particularly relates to an improved door lock particularly adapted for refrigerator doors.

A principle object of my invention is to provide a novel and simple form of door lock having a rotary latch bolt and a dog maintaining a continuous take-up force on the latch bolt.

Another object of my invention is to provide a door lock particularly adapted for refrigerator doors, exerting a force to maintain the door tightly closed regardless of the condition of the seal for the door. 7

A still further object of my inventionis to provide a rotary latch bolt type of door lock in which the dog is biased into dogging engagement with the latch bolt and exerts a continuing force on the latch bolt to rotate it in a door closing direction.

A further object of my invention is to provide a rotary latch bolt type of door lock for refrigerators in which the dog is biased into dogging engagement with the latch bolt to rotate the latch bolt in a door closing direction and in which release of the latch bolt is attained by bodily movement thereof out of dogging engagement with the latch bolt.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a novel and improved form of refrigerator door lock having a rotary latch bolt and a bodily movable dog guided to have dogging engagement with the latch bolt and dog the latch bolt in a latching position, and having a release lever directly connected thereto and normally biased to maintain the dogging lever in dogging engagement with the latch bolt and movable against its bias to move the dogging lever in position to accommodate the rotation of the latch bolt in an unlatching direction.

These and other objects of my invention will appear from time to time as the following specification proceeds and with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure l is a top plan view of a door lock constructed in accordance with my invention showing the lock applied to a refrigerator door, with the refrigerator door and pillar shown in horizontal section;

Figure 2 is an end view of the door lock shown in Figure 1 looking at the lock from the inner end thereof and showing the lock removed from the refrigerator door;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially along line IIIIII of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a plan view of a modified form of door lock constructed in accordance with my invention, with certain parts thereof shown in horizontal section;

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken substantially along line VV of Figure 4; and

Figure 6 is a front end view of the lock shown in Figure 5.

As shown on the drawings:

I have shown in horizontal section a pillar 10 for a refrigerator cabinet having a keeper 11 secured to the inner side thereof and extending from said pillar toward the edge of a cooperating refrigerator door 12. The door 12 is shown as having a rotary latch bolt 13 extending from the edge thereof in cooperating locking engagement with the keeper 11. The latch bolt 13 is shown as being pivoted to a lock casing 14 on a pivot pin 15 inwardly of the edge of the door.

The lock casing 14 is shown as being mounted between front and rear panels 16 and 17 of the door 12 and as comprising two parallel spaced lock plates 19, 19 spaced apart adjacent the front wall 16 of the door by a spacer 2i? and secured thereto by rivets 21, 21.

The lock plates 19, 19 in the region of the spacer 29 are of a reduced cross-sectional area in plan to afford freedom of movement of a release lever 22 pivotally mounted on said lock plates on a pivot pin 23. The release lever 22 is shown as being bifurcated and as extending along opposite sides of said lock plates. The reduced cross-sectional area portion of the lockplates 19, 19 is shown as having vertically extending flanges 24, 24 abutting the inside of the front panel 16 of the door, and secured thereto as by machine screws 25, 25. The machine screws 25, 25 are also shown as mounting a bifurcated bracket 26 for a handle 27 on the outside of the front panel 16 of the door. Flanges 28, 28 extend from the door edge sides of the lock plates 19, 19 and are provided to secure said lockplateto the edge of the door.

The handle 27 is herein shown as being of a generally L-shaped form having parallel ears 29, 29 extending inwardly therefrom adjacent an inwardly extending leg 30 thereof. The ears 29, 29 are shown as extending within the furcations of the bracket 26 and as being pivotally secured thereto, as by a transverse pivot pin 31. The handle 27 is biased toward the door in the solid line position shown in Figure 1 by means of a torsion spring 33. The torsion spring 33 is shown as encircling the pin 23 and as being secured between the lock plates 19, 19 at one of its ends by abutment with a lug 34 extending between said plates and riveted or pened thereto at its ends. The opposite end of the torsion spring 33 is shown as extending along and abutting the inner side of an end portion 35 of the release lever 23 connecting the sides thereof together.

The keeper or striker 11 is shown as having a strike member 39 projecting toward the edge of the door 12. The strike 11 is shown as being of a channel like form with one leg thereof abutting and secured to the pillar 10. The striker 11 may be stamped from sheet metal with spaced vertical walls and with the strike member stamped outwardly from the outer wall thereof.

The rotor 13 is shown as having a strike arm 43, positioned as shown in broken lines in Figure 1 when the door is open and engaged by the keeper and rotated thereby in a counterclockwise direction upon door closing movement. The rotor 13 likewise has a latching or take-up arm 44 spaced inwardly from the strike arm 43. The strike member is shown in Figure 1 as extending in the space between the arms 43 and 44 when the door is closed and the arm 44 is shown as bearing against the inner. side of the strike member-39 and exerting-a force onthe--st'rikemember" 39 to take-up on the latch.

-The rotor- 13 likewise has an inwardly projecting arm 45 slidably engaged by a rounded slidable dogging end portion 46 of a bodily movable dogging member 47. The dogging member 47 is shown as being mounted between the lock plates 19, 19 on a slidably movable pivot pin 48. The pivot pin 48 in turn is shown as being connected at its ends with the furcations f the release lever 22 and as being slidably movable along registering slots 49 formed in the. lock plates 19, 19 and exitendingtherealong in thedirection generally parallel to the walls 16 and 17 of the door.

The opposite end of thedogging member 47. from the dogging endcportionc46 thereof .is shown as being bifurcated,.the spacebetween the furcations thereof forming a slot-50. The slot 50slidably engages a guide pin 51:mo.unted-in theplates 19, 19 and extending therebetween. The pin 51. is shown as being spaced from the .slot 49 ina direction away from the rotary lock bolt 33 and toward the panel 17 of the door. The pin 51 thus :guides the dogging member 47 to. rotatably move from the position shown by broken lines-in Figure 2 to that shownby dotted lines inthisfigure upon door closing movement, under the bias ofthe torsion spring 33. The spring 33 actingon the release lever 22 forces the dogging member 47 to move along the slot 49 and exert a take-up force on the engaging surface 45 of the rotary lock bolt 11.

The. dogging member 47 is retracted by operation of the release lever 22in a clockwise direction as the door handle is moved outwardly of the front panel 16 of the door. The release lever 22 having connection with the pivot pin 43 at its inner end, when moved in a clockwise direction by operation of the door handie 27, will move .zthedogging member-47 alongthe slot 49 in a release .direction to. the right. During this retractible movement .ofthezdogging member 47, the pin 51 having slidable engagement with the slottedportion 50 of said dogging .member, will also cause the dog to revolve in a counterclockwise direction and move the dogging'end 46 .thereof out of engagement with the engaging portion 45 of the rotary latch bolt 13 to the position shown by broken lines in Figure 1, and release the latch bolt to move freely to release the strike member 39 of the keeper 11.

Upon door closing movement, the striker arm 43 of the rotary latch'bolt 13 will contact the strike surface .39 of .the keeper 11 and revolve the rotary latch bolt in a counterclockwise direction. After the inner end portion of the rotary latchbolt 13 is moved far enough in a counterclockwise direction to pass the dogging end 46 of the dogging member 47, said dogging member will be moved toward the left hand end of the slot 49 bythe torsion spring 33 acting on the release lever 22. .At the-same time the dogging member 47 will react against the pin 51 in the slot'50 of said dogging member and revolve in a clockwise direction, exerting a take-up force on the rotary latch bolt .13 to turn the latch bolt in a counterclockwise direction until the door is tight against its seal.

In the form of my invention illustrated in Figures 4, and 6 of the drawings, I have shown the same general type of door lock as is shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3, with a'modified form .of door handle for operating the: release. lever,.so arranged as to, be readily adapted to swing either vertically; or horizontally and be operated -.pivo.talv axis. fromzptherstrike; and locking arms thereof by;.fl1e projectingdogging end-.64 of.a:.dogging;memb.er

1 65. :The. dogging member;65..is :shown as being; mounted between the lock plates 61 and 62 on a pivot pin 66. The pivot pin--66 is shown as being guided formovement along aligned slots 67, 67 formed in the lock plates 61 and 62 and extending generally parallel to the plane of the door. The end of the dogging member opposite from the projecting dogging end 64 thereof is shown as having an outwardly opening guide slot 69 extending therealong at an angle with respect to the slots 67, and slidably engaging a stationary pin 70, secured at its ends to the plates 61 and 62. The relationship between the pin '79 and slot 69 with respect to the pin 66 and slot- 67 is such as to bias the dogging member 65 for rotation in a counterclockwise direction under the force of a tension spring 71, acting on a' release lever 73.

The release lever: 73 :is' shown asbeing pivoted between the plates 61 and 62 on a pivot pin 74 and as being connected with the dogging member 65 by the pivot pin 66 extending 'therethrough. Said release lever biases the pin 66 toward the right-hand end of the slot 67, under the force iof-the..tension spring 71, and thus biases the dogging member 65. into. dogging engagement with the latch bolt 60. The releaselever 73 and tension spring 71 thus exert a force on the latch bolt 60, tending to rotate the same in a clockwise direction until the door is .closedtight against its. seal, .and then to hold said dogging member in. such a position.

The release lever 73 .is shown as having an car 75 projectingtoward the lockplate'61, to which is hooked an end of .the tension spring 71. The other end of the tensionspring 71 is shown as being hooked to an inner side wall 76 of the lock plate 62. The release lever 73 likewise has ancar 77, projecting oppositely from .the car, 75 out through van arcuate slot 78. The car 71 generally facesthefrontedge of the door and is adjacent but extends at. an angle with respect to the ear 75.

.The release lever 735is pivoted in a release direction to move. the-pin 66 toward the left-hand end of the slot -67 by means of a link 79. The link 79 extends through the ear 77 and-is connected at its inner end to a connector 80, abutting the inner side of the ear 77 to pivot the release lever 731in a release direction upon outward movement of-the link 79. The outer end of the link 79 isshown asextending through an aperture 81 formed ina central recessed portion 82 of a door handle 83. Lock nuts 84 may beqthreaded on the end of said link and abut. the outertside of the recessed portion 82 of the hand lever 83, to efiect outward movement of the link 79 upon an outward pull on the handle 83. The end of theconnector opposite from the link 79 is shown as'havingatension spring-85 hooked thereto at one end, and hooked to an ear 76a extending outwardly from :the edge 76 of the'lock plate 62, to return the handle;83 toward thedoor after the hand is released therefrom.

The handle 83 is shown as being mounted .on an escutcheon plate 86, which may be secured to:.the refrigerator door as by machine screws 87, 87. The escutcheon plate 86 is shown as having a central annular wall 88 throughwhichthe link 79. extends, and abutting the inside of the-wall of the recessed portion 82 of the handle 83, and forming a support therefor, when the hand is released therefrom. The--escutcheon;plate'86 is.likewise shown ashaving an outerannular wall 89, extending along-the outer side of an annular portion 90 of the handle 83, to the refrigeratordoor panel.

The escutcheon plate.:86 is shown as having three pairs offangularly disposed parallel spaced lugs 91, 91; 92, 92 and 9 3, .93 extending outwardly therefrom Within the annular wall 89. vEach'pair of said lugs is drilled in aligned relation with respect to each other, to receive a pivot pin 95..forming. a pivotal mounting for the handle 83. Thepivot pin 95 ..is.shown-. as extending through, a lug 91- extending.-.in-war.dly.from..1the wall. of the. recess 82-, fat the. endofsaidhandleyer: opposite from thehandle portion thereof. A set screw=97-is,provided to..secure the handle to the pin 95. The hand lever 83 may thus be pivoted to the lugs 91, 91 as shown in the drawing, when it is desired that the handle be conveniently located for a door opening from one side of the cabinet, or said handle may be pivoted to the lugs 93, 93 when it is desired that the door open to the other side of the cabinet. The handle 83 may likewise be pivoted to the lugs 92, 92 when it is desired that the handle extend vertically.

A simplified mounting for the handle 83, for opening the refrigerator door and releasing the latch has thus been provided, accommodating the handle to be positioned for operation from either side of the door latch, when extending horizontally, and also accommodating the handle to extend vertically and open the door by outward pulling movement thereon.

The latch bolt 60 is released to open the door in the same manner as the latch bolt 13. That is, upon an outward pull on the handle 83, the release lever 73 will be moved in a counterclockwise direction against the tension spring 71 and retractably move the dogging member 65 and pivot pin 66 therefor along the slot 67 in a counterclockwise direction. This will release the dogging end 64 of said dogging member from the inner end of the latch bolt 60 and accommodate free rotation thereof, to open the door.

Upon release of the hand from the handle 83, the spring 85 will retractably move the handle toward the door, while the spring 71 acting on the release lever 73 will bias the dogging member 65 into engagement with the inner end of the latch bolt 60, to engage said latch bolt and dog the same in a latching position, upon the striking of the strike arm thereof with the keeper upon door closing movement. This will turn the latch bolt 60 in a clockwise direction and will release the dogging member 65, to pivot in a counterclockwise direction into engagement with the latch bolt, and exert a force on said latch bolt to take-up on the lock and hold the door locked.

It will be understood that modifications and variations may be effected without departing from the scope of the novel concepts of the present invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a door lock, a rotary latch bolt having a locking arm for cooperation with a keeper, a bodily movable dog guided at two spaced apart points for pivotal and rectilinear movement and having an engaging end portion having slidable engagement with said latch bolt on the opposite side of the pivotal axis thereof from said locking arm, and a release lever pivoted for movement in the plane of movement of said latch bolt and having con nection with said dog at one of said spaced apart points, for moving said dog in a release direction out of engagement with said latch bolt, to accommodate free rotation of said latch bolt in a release direction.

2. In a door lock, a rotary latch bolt having a latching arm for cooperation with a keeper, a bodily movable dog slidably and pivotally guided at two spaced apart points for movement in a generally arcuate path, said dog having an engaging end portion having slidable engagement with said latch bolt on the opposite side of the pivot thereof from said latching arm, to exert a continued bias on said latch bolt in a locking direction, a pivoted release lever having connection with said dog at one of said spaced apart points, for retractably moving the engaging end portion thereof out of engagement with said latch bolt, and a spring connected with said release lever and biasing said release lever and dog in a locking direction to engage said latch bolt and exert a force thereon biasing said latch bolt in a latch take-up direction.

3. In a door lock particularly adapted for refrigerator doors, a lock plate, a rotary latch bolt pivotally mounted on said lock plate and having a take-up arm for cooperation with a keeper, a dogging member pivotally and rectilinearly slidably mounted on said lock plate for movement toward and from said latch bolt, said dogging member being yieldably biased in extended position on 6 said lock plate and reacting against said latch bolt to bias said latch bolt in a keeper engaging direction, and a release lever on said lock plate operatively connected with said dog and operable to move said dog along said lock plate in a direction to free said latch bolt, for free rotary movement in a door opening direction.

4. A refrigerator door lock comprising a lock plate, a rotary latch bolt pivotally mounted on said lock plate and having a latch arm for cooperation with the keeper, a dog pivotally and slidably mounted on said lock plate intermediate its ends for bodily movement toward and from the keeper and yieldably biased into engagement with said latch bolt, said dog having an engaging end portion slidably engageable with said latch bolt on the opposite side of its pivot from the arm thereof, the opposite end of said dog being slidably guided at a point offset from the slidable mounting of said dog on said lock plate, and cooperating with said slidable mounting to guide said dog for bodily movement along said lock plate in a generally arcuate path, a release lever pivotally mounted on said lock plate intermediate its ends, and having operative connection with said dog intermediate the ends thereof for retractably moving said dog with respect to said latch bolt to release the same to move in a door opening direction, and a spring operatively connected with said release lever and biasing said release lever and dog in a direction to engage and rotate said latch bolt in a locking direction, and to exert a force on said latch bolt in a door locking direction to take-up on the lock.

5. A refrigerator door lock comprising a lock plate a rotary latch bolt pivotally mounted on said lock plate adjacent one end thereof and having a locking arm for cooperation with a keeper, a dogging member having an engaging end portion having slidable engagement with said latch bolt on the opposite side of its pivot from the locking arm thereof, a slot extending along said lock plate, a pivot pin having connection with said dogging member intermediate the ends thereof and slidably guided in said slot, a release lever pivotally mounted on said lock plate intermediate its ends and having pivotal connection with said pin for moving said dogging member along said slot toward and from said latch bolt, a spring having connection with said release lever and biasing said release lever toward one end of said slot, and said dogging member into engagement with said latch bolt, said dogging member having a slot at the end thereof opposite from said latch bolt and extending in an angular direction with respect to said slot in said lock plate, and a pin fixedly mounted on said lock plate and guiding said latch bolt to move in an arcuate path in a direction to take-up on said latch bolt by the bias of said spring.

6. A refrigerator door lock comprising a lock plate having an inner edge extending along the inner edge of the door, a latch bolt pivoted thereon and having a latch arm projecting therefrom beyond said lock plate for cooperation with a keeper, a dogging member having slidable engagement at one end with said latch bolt on the opposite side of its pivot from said latch arm, a pin mounted on said lock plate for movement therealong in a direction generally parallel to the plane of the door and having said dogging member pivotally mounted thereon intermediate the ends thereof, a second pin mounted on said lock plate and spaced closer to the inner edge of said lock plate and farther from the latch bolt than said first pin and having slidable guiding engagement with said dog, and cooperating with said first pin to guide said dog for bodily movement toward and from said latch bolt in an arcuate path, a release lever pivoted to said lock plate intermediate its ends and having pivotal connection with said first mentioned pin at one of its ends for movement of said dogging member out of engagement with said latch bolt, an outside operated release lever having engagement with said first-mentioned release lever, for moving said release lever in a release direction to release said dogging member, and a torsion spring having operative 7 engagement with said inside releaserleverflatlhe ppposite 12nd wthereoffrrom its point ofiiconnection to said first- :mentionedpin, vand biasing saidroutside neleasedever in a retracted position and maintaining said dogging memher in: dogging engagement withsaid latchlbolt and exert- References Cited inthe'i file .ofrthis patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 307,281 Farrar Oct. 28, 1884 8 Anderson Mar. 22, 1921 Mueller Nov. 21, 1922 ,Lindstrom etaL. Aug. 30, 1938 Crosley N0v. 8, 1938 -.Brownne Oct. 8, 1940 Brantingson Mar. 21, 1944 'Jakeway Dec. 27, 1949 .Robertson Apr. 7, 1953 'Gould Apr. 20, 1954 FOREIGN' PATENTS Great Britain Nov. 6, 1947 

